Dow hits fresh record high as QE fears recede

The Dow has leapt to a fresh all-time high shortly after the opening bell, as Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke last night ruled out the prospect of an imminent end to QE.

The Dow Jones jumped 0.94% or 144 points to 15,456 at 2.45pm, ahead of its all-time closing high of 15,409 at the end of May. The S&P 500 is also touching record highs, gaining 1.03% or 17 points to 1,669, just shy of its all-time high of 1,687. Meanwhile, closer to home, UK mining stocks continued to rally strongly in afternoon trading, taking advantage of overnight dollar weakness. Yesterday the dollar index - which tracks the price of the dollar against a basket of currencies - swiftly retreated from a three-year peak, dropping 2.7%. Such a dramatic fall has not been seen since ...